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Illegal dumping a blight on river’s landscape

Old wall linings, a television and a mattress were among a pile of rubbish illegally dumped on the southern bank of the Burdekin River recently.

Burdekin Shire Council Environment and Health Manager Tracy Jensen said this recent find was just the latest in a worrying trend of people leaving their rubbish by the roadside or in the vicinity of the river.

“It’s disappointing that people are using our environment as a rubbish tip, instead of taking it to a transfer station or the landfill,” she said.

“The main problem areas at the moment are along the banks of river, in the river bed itself and Mt Alma Road. Council officers are finding car bodies and tyres that have been dumped in the river bed and construction materials dumped on the banks of the river.

“The Burdekin River is the life source of this district and for people to treat it as a rubbish tip is beyond belief.

“Most of our residents take pride in their local area and do the right thing, yet a small number of people seem to think they can just dump their household rubbish wherever they like.”

Ms Jensen said the cost to residents to take a large trailer load of household rubbish to the Kirknie Road landfill was $17.

“Council does have surveillance in a number of areas and if someone is caught dumping illegally they could face fines of up to $16,000 and have a conviction recorded against their name,” she said.

“This is a serious offence and council is sending out council officers to pick up the rubbish and dispose of it correctly, which is an extra cost to ratepayers.”

Ms Jensen urged residents to report any suspicious activities or illegal dumping sites to the Council’s Customer Service Centre on (07) 4783 9800.